Titans Hire Dave Gardi As Executive VP Of Football Operations
Weeks after Chad Brinker‘s decision to step away from his high-ranking role in the Titans’ front office, the team has made a significant hire to join its Mike Borgonzi-fronted operation. Dave Gardi will join the team as its executive vice president of football operations.
The Titans announced the hire, indicating Gardi will report directly to Borgonzi. Gardi most recently was with the Commanders, serving as their senior VP of football initiatives.
Tennessee has seen many changes to its power structure commence since Amy Adams Strunk fired GM Jon Robinson in December 2022. The team hired Ran Carthon (against then-HC Mike Vrabel‘s wishes) as GM in 2023 but promoted Brinker — hired to be one of Carthon’s assistant GMs — to their top decision-making presence during Carthon’s stay. Carthon was then fired in January 2025, as Brinker officially saw his title change to president of football ops. Borgonzi worked under Brinker in 2025, but the Titans announced the GM would take control of the 53-man roster in January. Brinker stepped down after the draft.
Gardi is set to “oversee football administration, football strategy and analytics, research, football information systems, team operations and security,” according to the Titans. He joins assistant GM Dave Ziegler as a top Borgonzi lieutenant. Ziegler is in his second year working in that capacity.
Spending two years with the Commanders, Gardi enjoyed a much longer tenure in the NFL office. Gardi spent 21 years in the league office, serving as senior VP of football operations for his final 10 years under Roger Goodell. This hire reminds of the Giants’ offseason decision to add longtime league employee Dawn Aponte to a key front office role.
In-game management duties and officiating trends were part of Gardi’s Washington responsibilities, with salary cap and contract matters falling in his purview with the league office. The Titans have Borgonzi in a much more powerful spot compared to his first year with the team, and he led the search that brought Robert Saleh to Nashville. Gardi will step in as a key member of this hierarchy moving forward.